Hair dryer



1966 w. P. NIEMIEC ETAL 3,267,587

HAIR DRYER 5 Sheets-Sheec 1 Filed Feb. 11, 1964 FIQI m 5 E 3 mm 6 W F NW 40 W0 Y B n M JnJ fl n FIGS 1 1 I I l 5 I i i ATTORNEY 23, 1966 w. P. NIEMIEC ETAL 3,267,587

HAIR DRYER Filed Feb. 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q ig w FIG.4

INVENTORS WAL TER R N/EM/EC DONALD E. 54 772m 1966 w. P. NIEMIEC ETAL 3,267,587

HAIR DRYER Filed Feb. 11, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS K ALTER P. N/EM/EC DOA/ALO E 54 TTERLEE 4 7'7'0/EWEY United States Patent 3,267,587 HAHR DRYER Walter P. Niemiec and Donald E. Satterlee, St. Paul, Minn., assignors to Rayette, Inc., St. Paul, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Filed Feb. 11, 1964, Ser. No. 344,134 6 Claims. (Cl. 34-99) This invention relates to a portable hair dryer which is especially adapted for use in the home but which has an operating efficiency and drying speed characteristic of hair dryers used professionally in the beauty shop.

For home use, a hair dryer must be truly portable so that it may, with facility, be used in one place and stored in another. Lightness in weight is an essential for use by the housewife. The dryer should not be bulky or cumbersome, not only for portability, but in the interests of conservation of storagespacefrequently at a premium. The housewife should be able readily to set up the dryer for operation and to dismantle and pack it away after use.

These considerations have led to the proposal that for home use the conventional hood-type dryer, which has proven successful in the beauty shop, be discarded and superseded by something lighter and easier to use in the home. The cap-type dryer using a collapsible cap which can readily be packed away in a suitcase-like container is an example of such substitute which does not operate efhciently or dry the hair rapidly since its construction and operation are faulty in principle.

It is an object of our invention to provide a hair dryer which has the attributes needed for home use and which, at the same time, embodies the hood-type principle of proven efiicacy.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention, the hair dryer comprises a dome-shaped hood, open at the bottom, and a base housing adapted to fit over the opening and to be clamped thereto to form a selfcontained portable unit. Associated with said housing and enclosed by the hood when clamped in place is a duct system connecting an air inlet and an air outlet and enclosing a fan and an air heater, the hood having an inlet opening in its side wall adapted to communicate with and be secured to the outlet for the reception of hot air internally of the hood. The portion of the duct leading to the outlet extends upwardly from the base housing and is extensible in length to vary the height of the hood in mounted position above the base housing, so that the user, preparatory to sitting with her back to a table on which the housing rests (the position in use), may adjust the hood vertically to fit comfortably over the head. The upwardly extending part of the duct is articulated for folding within the enclosure formed by the hood when the hood is clamped on the base housing to form the selfcontained unit. When packed for storage, the domeshaped hood joined to the base forms the enclosure for the unit, which is light in weight, about the size of a hat box, and which may handily be carried and stored.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dryer assembled for storage;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dryer showing the hood removed;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, partly broken away, showing the hood attached to the hot air outlet ready for use;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4--4 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 5 is a detail vertical section on the line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view looking upwardly at the bottom of the base housing, partly broken away to show certain operating parts; and

3,267,587 Patented August 23, 1966 FIG. 7 is a detail section on the line 77 of FIG. 3.

The dryer has a dome-shaped hood 10 and base housing 12, which are latched together (FIG. 1) when the dryer is to be transported or stored and separated (FIG. 2) as the initial step in assembly preparatory to use. The opening 14 of the hood is circular, oval, or otherwise shaped as desired, and the base housing has a conforming configuration as seen in plan view. The hood and base housing are preferably molded of high-impact styrene or other suitable plastic.

Base housing 12 has an annular shell 16 and, preferably molded integrally therewith, a horizontal platform 18 formed with two upwardly extending duct portions, an inlet 28, and an outlet 22 in communication with each other below platform 18 (FIG. 4). The base housing is closed by cover plate 124, desirably of metal. Inlet 20 is of a size to accommodate motor 126, suitably secured to the housing, which drives fan 128 to draw air downwardly through the top opening of inlet 20. The opening is provided with a filter material 30 supported on perforate grid 32 and confined by filter screen 35.

The numeral 136 designates one element of an air heater having another element 138 (FIG. 6) between and around which the air flows on its way to outlet 22.

Outlet 22 is extensible and articulated for purposes which will appear. It includes an outer member 22a and an inner member 22b adapted to telescope within the outer member 220, both members being preferably rectangular in horizontal section. Inner member 2212 is formed, desirably by molding, with rack teeth 24 meshing with pinion 26 mounted on stud shaft 28 protruding through and having a bearing in the side wall of member 22a and manually rotated by knob 30 to raise and lower inner member 221).

Pivotally joined with the inner member 22b by hinge 32 is an air egress member 22c having an opening 36 rectangular in configuration and of a size to receive the upper ends 38 of the side walls of inner member 22b when member 34 is swung about hinge 32 from its dottedline position of FIG. 3 to its solid-lIne position during assembly. The lower ends of the side walls of egress member 22c are recessed to form shoulders 40 and 42, 'which abut the upper side wall ends 38 to hold the egress member in full-line position and support the weight of hood 10, attached (FIG. 3) as will be described. 44 is a cord supplying power to motor 126 and to heater elements 136 and 138, through suitable circuits, not shown, closed upon rotation of one or more control switch knobs 46 for varying degrees of heat or fan speed or both as desired.

The hood 10, dome-shaped as illustrated, is formed with an outer casing 50 and an inner perforate shell 52 suitably joined thereto in spaced relation to define an air chamber 54 from which perforations 6t) afford a multiplicity of passages for the direction of streams of hot air to the head, as indicated in FIG. 3. Hot air is supplied to the chamber 54 through inlet opening 62 (FIG. 2) in the side wall of the outer shell 50 of the hood of substantial size conforming to the shape and size of the delivery opening 64 (FIG. 4) of the egress member. Opening 62 in the side wall of the outer shell 50 performs a dual function. It serves to support the hood in drying position over the opening 64 of the egress member 34 (FIG. 3); it serves a function in securing the hood in place as a cover for the base housing by cooperation with latch 90 (FIG. 1).

The extremities of side walls 63 and 65 (FIG. 7) of egress member 22c adjacent the opening 64 are formed with shoulders 66 and 68, and a corresponding shoulder is formed in the extremity of wall 67, which wall is lowermost when egress member 34 is in its full-line position of FIG. 3. The extremity of the upper wall 69 is formed with a supporting lip 72. Side wall 65 is provided with a spring latch 73 riveted to the side wall 65 at 74 and having a latching knuckle '76 formed in its extremity. Button 78, sliding freely through an aperture in side wall 65, may be engaged by the finger to press the latch inwardly to its dotted-line release position. A similar latch 86 riveted at 82 to side wall 63 has a latching knuckle 34 and is released by pressure on button 86.

Latch member 9% (FIG. 4) is hinged to the base housing at 92 and is of a size to cover the opening 62 in the side wall of hood 10. A spring strip 9 1, riveted at 95 to the inner surface of the latch member 90, has a knuckle 93 which protrudes into the path of the upper edge 1% of opening 62 when the latch is closed and then yields and snaps into locking position behind it. Suitable side latches 1% of conventional construction supplement the latch 99.

The top of the hood is provided with a handle 116.

With the dryer constructed as above described, its operation is as follows:

After the dryer has been placed on a table behind a chair in which the user is to be seated with her back to the dryer, the cover (FIG. 1) is removed, as shown in FIG. 2. Egress member 220 is then swung from its dotted to its full-line position (FIG. 3) and the hood l9 mounted in place by inserting the upper edge 1th) of the opening 62 over and behind the lip 72 swinging the hood downwardly about that juncture until the edge portions of the hood opening 62 rest against the shoulders 66, 68, and 7t) (FIGS. 4 and 7) and the spring latch knuckles '76 and 84 snap into locking position behind those edges. The height of the hood is adjusted, if need be, by rotation of the thumb screw 30 to extend inner member 2212, (FIG. 5) upwardly. The fan motor and heating elements are then energized and the user, now seated, places her head in the dryer hood which is of a size comfortably to accommodate the head without disturbing the hair styling or set, including those using oversize rollers. The operation is etficient, the hot air being introduced to the hair from a multiplicity of sources and being circulated around and through the hair in an effective manner without disturbing the hair set. The moist air thereafter is readily allowed to escape, carrying the moisture with it.

After use, it is a very simple matter to pack the dryer away for storage. The user, after winding the cord, detaches the hood it from egress member 34, applying finger pressure to the buttons 78 and 86 (FIG. 7), after which the extensible member 2212 is lowered and the egress member 220 swung to its dotted-line position, and the hood'lll latched in place as a cover. The operation is simple, convenient and efficient; the dryer is unique and inexpensive.

We claim:

1. A portable hair dryer, comprising a rigid, domeshaped hood, open at one end, the size of the opening and the internal dimensions of the hood being not substantially greater than that required to receive and encompass with clearance a persons head with hair set in style to be dried, a base housing adapted to fit over said opening and to be clamped thereto to form a self-contained portable unit, air conduit means mounted on said housing and enclosed by said hood when said housing is clamped thereto comprising an air inlet duct and an air outlet duct, a communicating duct within said housing connecting the inlet and outlet ducts, a fan and an air heater within the connecting duct for drawing air through the inlet into the connecting duct, heating it and discharging it through the outlet duct, the said hood having an inlet in proximity to its said opening adapted to communicate with and to be mounted to said outlet duct for the reception of hot air internally of said hood.

2. A portable hair dryer, comprising a rigid, domeshaped hood, open at one end, the size of the opening and the internal dimensions of the hood being not substantially greater than that required to receive and encompass with clearance a persons head with hair set in style to be dried, a base housing adapted to fit over said opening and to be clamped thereto to form a self-contained portable unit, air conduit means mounted on said housing and enclosed by said hood when said housing is clamped thereto comprising an air inlet duct and an air outlet duct, a communicating duct within said housing connecting the inlet and outlet ducts, a fan and an air heater within the connecting duct for drawing air through the inlet into the connecting duct, heating it and discharging it through the outlet duct, the said hood having an inlet in proximity to its said opening adapted to communicate with and to be mounted to said outlet for the reception of hot air internally of said hood, the said outlet duct extending upwardly from said base housing and being extensible in length to vary the height of the hood in mounted position above said base housing.

3. A portable hair dryer, comprising a rigid, domeshaped hood, open at one end, the size of the opening and the internal dimensions of the hood being not substantially greater than that required to receive and encompass with ciearance a persons head with hair set in style to be dried, a base housing adapted to fit over said opening and to be clamped thereto to form a self-contained portable unit, air conduit means mounted on said housing and enclosed by said hoodwhen said housing is clamped thereto comprising an air inlet duct and an air outlet duct, a communicating duct with said housing connecting the inlet and outlet ducts, a fan and an air heater within the connecting duct for drawing air through the inlet into the connecting duct, heating it and discharging it through the outlet duct, the said hood having an inlet in proximity to its said op ning adapted to communicate with and to be mounted to said outlet for the reception of hot air internally of said hood, the said outlet duct extending upwardly from said base housing and being extensible in length to vary the height of the hood in mounted position above said base housing, the upwardly extending portion of said outlet duct being articulated for folding within the enclosure formed by the hood when clamped on the base housing to form said self'contained unit.

4-. A portable hair dryer, comprising a rigid, domeshaped hood having an opening to receive a persons head for drying the hair and an air inlet orifice, a base housing adapted to fit over said opening and to be clamped to said hood to form a self-contained portable unit, air conduit means in said housing and enclosed by said hood when said housing is clamped thereto comprising an air inlet, an air outlet and a connecting air passage therebetween, a fan and an air heater within the passage for drawing air through the inlet, heating it and discharging it through the outlet, a duct mounted on said outlet, the said outlet duct being both telescopically extensible and articulated and comprising an outer member, an inner member adapted to telescope within the outer memher for upward extensibility and having an upper outlet opening, both members being rectangular in horizontal section, an air egress member having an outlet opening and a rectangular inlet opening shaped to conform to and to communicate with the upper outlet opening of said inner member, and a hinge pivotally joining the upper outlet end of the inner member with said air egress memher at one side of its said rectangular inlet opening, means for fastening the outlet of said egress member to the air inlet orifice of said hood to deliver air to the hood during drying, the egress member having an edge portion arranged to abut the said inner member under the weight of the hood fastened thereto to hold the hood in fixed attitude during drying, and being adapted upon removal of the hood, to be rotated about said hinge out of the way of the interior of the hood when the base housing is fitted over the hood opening to form the selfcontained portable unit.

5. The portable hair dryer defined in claim 4 in which the said egress member is shaped to extend at a lateral inclination from the said inner member in a direction to hold the hood in an inclined drying attitude.

6. A portable hair dryer comprising a base housing formed of upper and lower plates and an annular shell securing the plates in spaced relation to form an air passage therebetween, an air inlet and an air outlet in the upper plate communicating with each other through said passage, a fan for drawing air into the inlet and forcing it through said passage to said outlet and a heater for raising the temperature of the air flowing through said passage, a duct communicating with said outlet and extending upwardly externally of said upper plate to a duct delivery opening, a dome-shaped hood having a mouth opening of a configuration conforming to that of said annular shell and adapted to be secured thereto to enclose said inlet and said upwardly extending outlet duct to form a portable unit, the hood having a cavity to receive a References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/ 1907 Falken-strom et a1 26319 7/ 1942 De Vincenzis et a1 3499 FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

JOHN J. CAMBY, Examiner.

C. R. REMKE, Assistant Examiner.

' Attest:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N06 3,267,587 August 23, 1966 Walter P., Niemiec, et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 28, for "with" read within Signed and sealed this 1st day of August 1967.

(SEAL) EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, J r.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

1. A PORTABLE HAIR DRYER, COMPRISING A RIGID, DOMESHAPED HOOD, OPEN AT ONE END, THE SIZE OF THE OPENING AND THE INTERNAL DIMENSIONS OF THE HOOD BEING NOT SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THAT REQUIRED TO RECEIVE AND ENCOMPASS WITH CLEARANCE A PERSON''S HEAD WITH HAIR SET IN STYLE TO BE DRIED, A BASE HOUSING ADAPTED TO FIT OVER SAID OPENING AND TO BE CLAMPED THERETO TO FORM A SELF-CONTAINED PORTABLE UNIT, AIR CONDUIT MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING AND ENCLOSED BY SAID HOOD WHEN SAID HOUSING IS CLAMPED THERETO COMPRISING AN AIR INLET DUCT AND AN AIR OUTLET DUCT, A COMMUNICATING DUCT WITHIN SAID HOUSING CONNECTING THE INLET AND OUTLET DUCTS, A FAN AND AN AIR HEATER WITHIN THE CONNECTING DUCT FOR DRAWING AIR THROUGH THE INLET INTO THE CONNECTING DUCT, HEATING IT AND DISCHARGING IT THROUGH THE 